The Saudi Union Club sought to acquire the Algerian Ismail Bennacer, a midfielder for AC Milan, during the summer transfer window, before the player ultimately joined Croatian Dinamo Zagreb on loan.

Spanish journalist Matteo Moretto revealed that the Union's management personally contacted Bennacer in recent weeks and received his approval to move to the Saudi league, but negotiations with Milan were not serious enough to finalize the deal.

The Union made a verbal offer to Milan with promises to send an official request, but the management did not fulfill its promise, which led to a complete halt in discussions between the two clubs regarding the Algerian player.

For its part, Dinamo Zagreb agreed with Milan to loan Bennacer with an option to buy for 10 million euros, with the Croatian club covering 40% of the player's salary, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

It is worth noting that Bennacer's contract with Milan extends until the summer of 2027, and he spent the second half of last season on loan at Marseille in France, gaining additional experience in European competitions.

The failure of the Union's negotiations reflects the difficulty of signing major players linked to strong European clubs, despite the increasing desire of Saudi clubs to strengthen their squads with global players during the summer transfer window.